The Panhandle Park Stewards will be getting down and dirty this Saturday at their monthly Second Saturday Cleanup Day.
If you're interested in joining them, they'll be meeting from about 9 until about 11:30 AM near the playground near Ashbury and Oak. This Saturday's task list includes putting in some new sand for the playground, and raking leaves in the blocks between Masonic and Clayton. To learn more about the second Saturday clean-up days, we spoke to Dale Danley, who runs a blog about the Panhandle Park Stewards. This is where you can read about the scheduled removal or pruning of ten of our beloved Panhandle trees if, like us, you're nervous about their fate after seeing the notices posted on them. Dale tells us that there are normally about 20-30 locals who show up and help out (we had no idea!), half of whom are families who signed up through the San Francisco Day School. They work with the gardeners and other caretakers of the park to keep things clean, inviting, and ready for picnic season. Thanks to Dale and Co., the Panhandle will enjoy an infusion of capital from Rec and Park for April 2012. The Stewards' goals include fixing pathways, replacing degraded turf, and modernizing irrigation and drainage in the area between the playground and the basketball courts. There's a video of their proposed changes, which includes some new bike racks, benches, and other aesthetic and functional improvements that, frankly, made us giddy to imagine. Generally, though, Dale would love to see more community engagement with the park. "Hopefully when we have our capital improvement project, a large number of neighbors will participate in the planting day and people will feel a much greater sense that the area around the playground - not just inside the fence but around it as well - is an area they want to spend time in." And if you need any more incentive to go out and meet the Pandhandle Stewards this Saturday, Dan says, "Some of our regular repeat volunteers enjoy the zen of raking leaves below the towering eucalyptus." Meditative raking? We're feelin' it.
If you're interested in joining them, they'll be meeting from about 9 until about 11:30 AM near the playground near Ashbury and Oak. This Saturday's task list includes putting in some new sand for the playground, and raking leaves in the blocks between Masonic and Clayton. To learn more about the second Saturday clean-up days, we spoke to Dale Danley, who runs a blog about the Panhandle Park Stewards. This is where you can read about the scheduled removal or pruning of ten of our beloved Panhandle trees if, like us, you're nervous about their fate after seeing the notices posted on them. Dale tells us that there are normally about 20-30 locals who show up and help out (we had no idea!), half of whom are families who signed up through the San Francisco Day School. They work with the gardeners and other caretakers of the park to keep things clean, inviting, and ready for picnic season. Thanks to Dale and Co., the Panhandle will enjoy an infusion of capital from Rec and Park for April 2012. The Stewards' goals include fixing pathways, replacing degraded turf, and modernizing irrigation and drainage in the area between the playground and the basketball courts. There's a video of their proposed changes, which includes some new bike racks, benches, and other aesthetic and functional improvements that, frankly, made us giddy to imagine. Generally, though, Dale would love to see more community engagement with the park. "Hopefully when we have our capital improvement project, a large number of neighbors will participate in the planting day and people will feel a much greater sense that the area around the playground - not just inside the fence but around it as well - is an area they want to spend time in." And if you need any more incentive to go out and meet the Pandhandle Stewards this Saturday, Dan says, "Some of our regular repeat volunteers enjoy the zen of raking leaves below the towering eucalyptus." Meditative raking? We're feelin' it.
